“Buy Nows” and Sales are in some ways as low as it goes in marketing.
IF that’s the only thing you have going for you.
Supermarket advertising is almost entirely devoted to promoting what’s on sale. If you were already planning on buying cauliflower, maybe you’ll go to Publix instead of Sweetbay. But there’s otherwise little difference between one supermarket and another. And profit margins in that industry are abysmally low.
Nevertheless, Sales and especially “Buy Now”s are very useful, almost mandatory as part of an effective marketing campaign.
The problem with Sales of course is when you aren’t running one, sales go down. But many companies are always running some kind of sale or another.
A “Buy Now” isn’t necessarily a discounted price. It’s anything to motivate someone to purchase now as opposed to later. It’s a conscious effort to overcome people’s buying inertial. It’s always easy to do nothing.
Extra goodies are a standard buy now in direct response marketing. Order in the next 15 minutes and get an extra CD for free, or free shipping or whatever. Of course these extras aren’t really extra. They are built into the pricing.
Limited quantities available are a motivator if people believe it is going to sell out rapidly. Getting better seats or a lower numbered limited edition item work the same way.
Events such as holidays are a “Buy Now” all by themselves. Graduation or Valentine’s Day comprise a hard deadline. You can’t put off your Christmas shopping past December 24th.
There are many other ways to work a “Buy Now.” You try to avoid ones that cost you money. Put on your thinking cap and see what you can come up with.
Marketing that already works to some degree will always be improved by the addition of a “Buy Now.”
“Buy Nows” and Sales
